Arsenal have suffered an injury blow with Thomas Partey set to miss the “next few games”.
The Gunners went down 2-1 at home to Wolves on Sunday - a third successive home loss for Mikel Arteta, to leave them 14th in the table.
The £45 million signing from Atletico Madrid has made an immediate impact since joining, but the 27-year-old has not featured since the 3-0 home defeat to Aston Villa.
And after three weeks with the thigh problem, a return is not in sight, with his absence likely to be sorely felt for this week’s north London derby against Premier League leaders Tottenham.
“He had an injury very early in the game [against Aston Villa], he wanted to continue the second half,” Arteta said.
"We knew it was a significant injury. He's done very well and he's working very hard, he wants to be available.
"Hopefully we can get him back soon but it's an area we need to be careful and we need to be protective with the player.
“I don't think he will be with us in the next few games.”
Partey will therefore also miss Thursday's Europa League game against Rapid Vienna and a return to the pitch will come at the earliest after the Spurs match against Dundalk on 10 December or Burnley on 13 December.
